The Straight Edge

With plenty of dollars flying around and players finding new homes, who came up smelling like roses and who ended up with a different odour early on? Day 1 of free agency went with neither a whimper nor a bang; the level of action was somewhere in the middle. And while big names such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco were still out there after the first deluge of signings, some teams did a lot to help their stock next year.

NHL mock drafts always fall by the wayside soon after the first pick is made, so instead, we make some general prognostications. The best part of the NHL draft is the unpredictability. Think of both Sedin brothers going to Vancouver in 1999, or Rick DiPietro going first overall the next season.

Before the fun begins in Los Angeles, we take a look at which teams are set up for draft success in 2010 and which will struggle. The 2010 draft is one week away; it’s officially happy time if you’re a prospects fan. And while the merits of Taylor Hall vs. Tyler Seguin have been discussed ad nauseum, one thing still worth digesting is how certain teams are positioned big-picture heading into the draft in Los Angeles.

Like Steven Stamkos and some current prospects prove, it can sometimes be best to be challenged in a weaker program than carried in a strong one. There’s a fantastic article in the New York Times Sunday Magazine about the Dutch soccer factory run by the famous Ajax team, which produces some of the country’s best players and does so by bringing them into the fold as children.

To make sure their fans don't revolt, the Oilers must deal with Boston if they decide to trade the top pick of the draft. So far, the Edmonton Oilers have played their hand perfectly. With less than a month before the NHL draft, GM Steve Tambellini has yet to commit to either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin as the object of the Oilers’ affection and the player who will don their jersey with the first overall selection.

Taylor Hall opts out... Kirill Kabanov holds court... Tyler Seguin impresses... the impact of interviews... and the bizarre questions teams ask. The debate between Taylor or Tyler may have become a foregone conclusion at the Memorial Cup, but the intrigue is not officially dead.
That's because Windsor's Taylor Hall and Plymouth's Tyler Seguin had vastly different draft combines in Toronto Friday.

With grit, skill, goaltending, depth and conditioning on their side, the '07 Ducks trump the '77 Canadiens and the Oilers dynasty. Working on a soon-to-be-released THN project, I was researching the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks and I’m starting to think they may have been the best team ever.

Plenty of teams, including the home club in each of the four Game 7s so far, have had trouble getting it done in their own confines. But why? It has now officially been one month since the San Jose Sharks lost a game at HP Pavilion. Otherwise, The Shark Tank has lived up to its name in this post-season and the well-rested teal denizens can thank their rabid fans and their own clutch performances for their current status as Cup contenders.

With the state churning out so many top-level players and no elite programs to speak of, the NCAA should look to California for hockey. It’s been a pretty good year for hockey in California. The Los Angeles Kings proved they are well on their way to becoming contenders, while the San Jose Sharks (Game 4 disaster notwithstanding) were poised to slay their Detroit demons and make it back to the Western Conference final for the first time since 2004.

John Carlson, P.K. Subban, Tyler Ennis and Jonathan Bernier are four to keep an eye on next season in light of their NHL playoff performances. We’ve seen some incredible performances in the playoffs so far; the most promising aspect of the trend being the fact youngsters have gotten into the act.

Throughout the year there was a rumored rift in the dressing room. Whether or not it was entirely true, the whole team is clicking together in the post-season. If there was one dark cloud hovering over the Philadelphia Flyers heading into the post-season…well, it was goaltending. If there was a second dark cloud hovering over the Philadelphia Flyers heading into the post-season, it was the state of the dressing room.

Should the Oilers take Hall or Seguin? What will follow after the Big Two? We look at team needs and make their first round selection accordingly. With the NHL’s draft lottery completed, the non-playoff teams and the Bruins now know where they stand this summer when it comes to selecting their future.